GRAND PRIX BOLOGNA 2016

The Eldrazi as well as 2,181 players descended upon Bologna, Italy, this weekend. Featuring Modern, the tournament gave us a number of interesting storylines, from (12) Fabrizio Anteri's run at Platinum culminating in the ninth Top 8 finish of his career, to the apparent takeover of the format by green-based Eldrazi decks. For most of the second day, with 694 players still in the running, it looked as if the red-green Eldrazi builds and not the white-blue ones had the upper hand.

However, by the time the Top 8 came around, white-blue had reasserted itself as the dominant force within the Eldrazi world. Mirroring the events of Grand Prix Melbourne, the finals once again saw a clash between two White-Blue Eldrazi decks. Here it was England's Kayure Patel who defeated Italy's own Alberto Mattioli in two quick games to become champion of Grand Prix Bologna!

Leaving the alien horrors of Modern aside for a moment, Magic fans were also able to step into the world of the upcoming set Shadows over Innistrad this weekend, a world of gothic horror overrun by Zombies, Werewolves, and Vampires. Here in Bologna, we took a trip to Markov Manor and escaped with a rich bounty of preview cards. Be sure to mark your calendars for the Shadows over Innistrad prerelease on the second and third of April!

Yesterday, through a grueling nine rounds of Modern, a whopping 2,181 players had been whittled down to a mere 694. Now it was time for these 694 to return and fight for their shot at fame and fortune, points and prizes, and eventually title and trophy.

Overnight, Eldrazi decks took up five of the, as yet undefeated, Top 8 spots. We had been expecting a lot of White-Blue Eldrazi, but only one of those managed to win all of the first nine rounds, compared to three Red-Green Eldrazi and one Green-White Eldrazi. Apparently, the power of Ancient Stirrings in providing additional consistency and the versatility of World Breaker in dealing with foreseen and unforeseen opposition proved all too enticing. The 9-0 decks even included a total of six Scion Summoners! Rounding out the top of the standings were Storm, Lantern Control, and Living End.

Stay tuned for more Modern action, for a breakdown of the top archetypes, for decklists, and for the epic conclusion of Grand Prix Bologna 2016!

After nine rounds of Modern, Day One is in the books. Out of the original 2,181 players, 694 have earned the right to come back tomorrow and compete for the title of Grand Prix Bologna Champion.

Eldrazi decks were well-represented today, and Abzan Company decks were not far behind. But we’ve also seen plenty of interesting alternatives, with decks featuring such cards as Lantern of Insight, Reflector Mage, and Walk the Aeons. All of those cards are in Day 2, but overnight the field is led by eight other players with pristine 9-0 records.

The undefeated players are Alex Mortimer, Mattia Rizzi, Jose Luis Velazquez, Wouter Noordzij, Jose Antonio Rodriguez Pozo, Mattia Oneto, Diony Idelfonso, and Giuseppe Reale. They have a head start, but they’ll have to prove themselves again tomorrow as we have Fabrizio Anteri, Alessandro Portaro, Joel Larsson, Raphaël Lévy, and plenty of other top players hot on their heels with 8 wins.

Join us here tomorrow for more text coverage as we see who will advance to the Top 8!